Kids say (and do) the darndest things!

Today when we got home from the Super Bowl party, John laid on our ottoman and started whimpering. I asked him what was wrong, and he pointed at his belly, and said "Belly, owie." "Did you eat too much?" I asked him. "Uh, huh." Then when he was getting ready for bed, he did the same to daddy. When, daddy asked him why his belly hurt, he said, "Baby in belly."
In the midst of all this, Ben is patting his belly, saying "poopoo!" Then he went to John's belly and patted it and said, "poopoo." Yep, Ben that's where poopoo is.

Last night was a first for Ben. He was standing up in the bathtub, and then all of a sudden we heard a noise like a faucet had been turned on. Ben looked pleased with himself, and we looked down, and he was peeing. Whod've thunk he would be the first one who started peeing standing up?

Ben has learned a new word, "No" and says it to everything. Chris got into him, and said, sternly,"We don't say that word." So Ben responds by pointing his thumb and finger at Chris and sternly says, "TACO." We cracked up laughing.

John is learning synonyms. The first time I noticed this was last week. I told him not to touch something b/c it was disgusting. He repeated me, and said, "Disgusting." Then he said, "Icky, nasty." Yep, John! A few days later, I said something was "Gross," and he said, "Icky, nasty, Disgusting." Yes, John. Now it's a continual thing. Everytime I say one of the words, he will say all the other synonyms! Too cute!

John received a new book for Christmas, "Snuggle Puppy of Mine." It's a book you sing. He was holding the book, and I started singing the song. He looked at me and said, "No, mommy, read it," and handed me the book. I said, "John, I don't need to read it, I have it in my head." He looks at me quizzically and then sticks the book on my head!

So I don't forget

So, I've been sorting an organizing mass amounts of pictures over the last week, in hopes that I can get them all organized, so that I can spend one night blogging of all the happenings over this last year. We shall see how that goes. So, while I don't have any pictures, I will leave you with some Johnisms:

Ben is quasi lactose intolerant, so I bought almond milk for him to try, since I'm not big on giving a whole bunch of soy (estrogen) to boys. Well, Ben wasn't too keen on it (made a grimacing, this is nasty face), and pushed it up the table. John thought it was juice and wanted some. The moment he tried it, "Mommy, mommy, icky." I guess neither one of them is too fond of almond milk. Guess mommy will be drinking the rest of the carton.

Yesterday while we were walking (it was trash day) John spotted a Miller Lite box. "Mommy, go, go football," he said. Hmmmm, perhaps we are watching way too much football these days.

I've been taking prenatal vitamins, and everytime John sees them, he says, "Baby." "Yes, John, mommy is feeding the baby." Although now he thinks I need to take them at every meal. I guess he doesn't want the baby to go hungry! :)
Along those same lines, Chris was showing me how his belly looked in his smaller sized uniform and was thus pushing it out. John said, "Mommy, daddy baby," and pointed to his belly. Hmmmm, guess daddy is growing a baby along with mommy!

John has become really into his daddy. Yesterday he wouldn't eat his breakfast taco (no amount of persuading, coaxing, encouraging, standing on my head would work) because his daddy wasn't at the table (Chris was putting his boots on at the couch-he had bought the tacos for us and wasn't going to eat any). The minute Chris sat down, John ate all of his taco.
And this afternoon, we had to pray three times b/c he wasn't holding daddy's hand. He kept asking, "Daddy, hand, pray?" I kept telling him daddy was at work, but he wasn't ok with that. Finally, I said, "John we've got to learn how to pray sometimes when daddy isn't here." Wow, gonna be an interesting year when Chris leaves!

And a cute Ben moment that happened today. I put him down for his morning nap, and he has started to NEED his elephant to sleep with. I handed it to him, he patted it, closed his eyes and went to sleep. Too cute. (He often wakes up screaming cuz he can't find his elephant, and when we check on him at night, he usually is snuggling with it. So precious)

Oregon-the rest of the time

The last day the boys and I went to a park while Chris napped as he would be driving over 12 hours that night.

These pics should probably be in the post before, b/c that's when they happened.

Steph's dogs were big enough to ride, and they for the most part let you ride them. John thought that was great, cept he kept trying to ride Kebap when we got back!

He loves to drive!


He started to learn to hold on correctly to the swing this trip, but still preferred to lean to the front and be superman!

John exploring the park. It was pretty amazing. It had a couple of fountains that kids could play in, a mud area, multiple different play gyms, and some old timey looking structures (a saloon where there were little benches and chairs, a train car where there was places to play in, and an old fashioned water system throughout the park, that you could pump water, and make it run down the gutter) that they converted to play areas

John climbed to the tippety top of one of the structures, up one of two ladders that went to the turret. He unfortunately was too afraid to go down the slide, and I couldn't fit up the hole, so I had to help him back down, and he went up again, and then I had to help him back down. I finally put a stop to that and moved to another play area!!!! :)

Here's an example of one of the old watering systems.


Neil, Ben, & John on the couch right before we took off on our drive!


John passed out as we were nearing Avon. I love how he's holding his feet!!! :)

Oregon-Boating/Tubing

Yep, still catching up on our summer vacation!

The next day Justin came home (he works away from home 4 days out of the week and comes home on the weekends) and took us for an unforgettable ride in their boat on the lake.

Ben was all excited til he had to get his life jacket on!



Our family in the boat. John wasn't feeling good, and actually looks it, but he thoroughly enjoyed the ride.


The one fairly decent picture of Ben where he's not screaming. That's Justin in the back.


Yep, can definitely tell he's not feeling good (we found out the next day that he had pink eye and a double ear infection).


A family picture on their inner tube behind the boat. It was a 3 seater, that we all rode on!

Here we go!!!


Ben wasn't enjoying the tube ride, so he and I got out and Daddy and John got to go on a ride together.

John had a blast!

I wish the surroundings were this pretty at our lakes in Texas!! It was amazing to be on this beautiful blue (albeit cold) water surrounded by hills and pine trees. Absolutely glorious!

Trying to wave!


A random content moment!

Yep, this is pretty much how he was the entire boat ride. The pics before were just capturing his few good moments!
Daddy riding the waves


John scared for daddy! I think the paci helped calm me down, rather than my kiddos!!! :) It's been in my mouth the last 4 pics

Steph and I getting ready for our turn
Making the first wave

We managed to hold on!!

Daddy has the touch!


After we docked, John climbed in the back of the boat and "played."

Our family pic at the lake

Oh, and that night, Steph made the most delicious meal, YUMM bowls. They definitely fit their name. Pretty much a concoction of whatever you want to put in (rice, chicken, cilantro, onions, etc.) and topped with YUMM sauce. Delicious!

Funnies

So, today John came and woke me up from my nap. Tess was sleeping with me, so he began petting her, and when she jumped off the bed, he followed her, where he saw the dirt on the floor from the plant she had knocked over earlier (as she was trying to eat the leaves). "Mommy, dirt!" he exclaimed, and then he saw a big chunk of dirt, and said, "Mommy, Antpile!" I chuckled, and said, I don't think it's an antpile, but he was insistent. He then proceeded to grab the broom and dustpan and attempt to sweep it up!

In Ben news: So when we nicknamed Ben, monkey, it was b/c he clung to us, and wanted to be held like a baby monkey. Well today he earned it officially. He had left the living room and was quiet for a little bit. I go to find him in our guest room, navigating the cd player on the floor and using it as a stepping stool to get up on the guest bed. He was so proud of himself. And later he did the same thing, and ended up sliding off the bed, and getting stuck in the pile of boxes at the foot of the bed! Crazy kiddo. (Oh, and bananas are his absolutely favorite food, wants them with every meal-so that plays into his monkey status!)

Sorry no pics this time, forgot to capture the moment!

Oregon- the coast

So we arrived in Oregon after a very long drive (5 hours in which neither boy decided to sleep, or at least sleep longer than an hour). Thankfully our rental minivan had a DVD player, and so we stuck Ratatouille in. I was more into than the boys I think! I was slightly bummed when we arrived at Steph's house 10 minutes b4 the movie was over (Good thing I saw the last 10 minutes at my sis's house like a year ago!), but that all changed when I got to see her, and hug her sweet little boy! Neil is a little over a month older than Ben. That night we even got to see her mom and bro, who moved up there shortly after she did!
This was the first thing Chris noticed when he got out of the car. The recycling bin is the bigger of the two trash cans. He thought that was silly and had to take a pic of it!

My 3 boys excited to be out of the car!

Pretty much after dinner we gave the boys their baths, and put them down, and then we weren't too far behind them.
Neil joined the boys in the big boy bath! Apparently it was his first time in the actual bathtub! Got to be there for one of his firsts!


Steph and Justin own an RV and they brought it to their house and parked it outside, so we got our own little area to stay in. It was so much fun. Ben enjoyed playing in the overhang above the driver/front seats where we stashed our clothes!



The next day we were there, after the boys took their naps, we headed off to the Oregon coast! Chris thinking it was like any other coast, didn't exactly dress for the occasion. It actually dropped almost 20 degrees from Eugene to the coast, and it was drizzling when we got there. But we still had fun! Especially John!




John LOVED the sand!!!

Following his daddy's footsteps.
Ben "hanging out" literally!
He went into the water for about two seconds, and then ran out when the water started chasing him to the shoreline!

I think that phone needs to be surgically implanted in his ear, with how much he's on it. Even on vacation at the beach he can't get away from it! (notice how frozen he looks-and is) I think without the wind it was 50 degrees on the beach. Makes ya wanna sunbathe, huh?

John climbing the rocks.
Yep, still on the phone
Family picture



Playing with my boys

I love this picture!

Chasing seagulls

Steph and I with our babies. Not sure why my hand is behind my back.

John is so trusting of his daddy. He will jump from any height into his arms. Why can't I trust Jesus this way? Why do we lose this uninhibited trust as we get older?

Chris enjoying the view


The view on our drive. I love how green and treey it is.

More beauty!

My baby is One!

(This was written on his first birthday, but I didn't put the pics in til today-20th)

Happy Birthday Benaiah Seth!!! It is so hard to believe that you are officially one year old. It feels like just yesterday we had you, and you were our low key easy baby who hated sleep. Well you are still our low key easy baby (except for the shrieking that your brother taught you how to do), and you still hate sleep, but thankfully you have finally at 10 months, learned how to sleep through the night. You still have a funky nap schedule. One day you take 2 really good naps. The next day you take one really good nap, and one not so good one, or you don't take the 2nd one. The following day you either take 2 really bad naps (30 min or less) or you refuse to nap at all. And then the cycle starts all over. Crazy kiddo!!

You are our kiddo who is prone to being sick. You were sick for two whole months of your life, to the point of requiring nebulizer treatments. Then again when you got your 4 top teeth in all at once, and once again, you are sick. Poor guy.
You love life


You love to smile-now have learned the gutteral laugh.
When you are done eating you throw your food on the floor.

You know what a dog says "Wo wo wo wo"
You can clap, wave bye, do "So big."
You can climb up a slide and up the stair leading to the slide.

You respond to "I love you" or "Night, night" with "Mmmaw"-the sound of a kiss. It's really adorable.
You have started greeting your dad at the door.
You may say "Mama, but it also may be "More, More" cuz you say it most often when you are in your highchair.


You know what "Uh uh" means, and will shake your head back and forth and say "Uh uh" and stop doing what you weren't supposed to.
You love to throw things on the floor and say "Uh oh"

You lift your hands up when you want to be picked up, or point at people to pick you up.
You pull up on anything, and have on occasion let go, only to realize you aren't holding on, and you immediately squat.
You think Kebap & your brother are the best thing since sliced bread.
You have 8 teeth, and are attempting to pop 4 more, so you have been affectionately nicknamed "Drooley" by our friends.
Our favorite nicknames for you are "Monkey," "Booger," & "Boogs"
You are often found having a blast hiding behind a curtain. This can entertain you for hours!
If your brother is awake, you are often found underneath him,as he loves to wrestle you.
You love to cuddle.

You are quasi lactose intolerant, so finding foods you can eat (since I cook with cheese/cream stuff a lot) has been an interesting challenge!
You have such a sweet spirit, you love people and you get easily offended (ie you have a tender heart). We pray that God would use these qualities to mold you into a man after his heart. We love you Benaiah Seth Morgan, and are so proud that God decided to bless us with you.

Fort Lewis!!!

So Tuesday (June 23rd) morning before we left Washington for Oregon, and after we bid Scarlett and the girls goodbye (after Ben's morning nap) we went up to Ft. Lewis and drove around LDACistan, where Chris spent 5 weeks training in between his junior and senior years of ROTC. It was fun having him point out all the locations where he lived, called me, was in the field, did exercises, ate,etc.

We almost got them all to look. Of course Ben was infatuated by Kaitlyn


Much better,at least he was looking forward if not at the camera


The kiddos...and Annabelle gets lost!


Yay, we managed to get 4 kiddos 2 & under to all look at the camera and smile(ish) at the same time!! Definitely a great pic!


So, these cattle cars, actually carry cadets, to and from wherever they need to go for the day, not cattle. I think if you click on the picture, you can actually see some of them in the windows.


Some cadets planning out their drills for an exercise later that day.


The line of barracks where cadets live for 5 weeks.


We stopped in a parking lot while Chris got out to take some pictures, orient himself (ie where was he in the field, where was he at the range...)and I got Ben out cuz he was fussy. He makes some of the cutest faces!

My happy boy!

Skookum's. Chris has some funny stories about these things. Only at Ft. Lewis are they called Skookum's and not port-a-potties.


This the building Chris stayed in. There's a phone on the outside that he used to call me on, when he was given permission (they take away all cell phones).


Chris's room was the 2nd one from the end, top floor.


Mount Rainier. Chris saw this amazing site nearly everyday he was there, thanks to no rain/cloud coverage for most of the 5 weeks. We got to hike parts of it when I went up for his graduation!

I loved hearing all the stories he told as he pointed out different buildings. He got so excited reliving it!

Since Nils had to go to work early, we stopped by to say goodbye (he works right near the cadet land) and to get a pic


Since our boys were acting up when we went to visit Ron & Susan, and we didn't get a picture, they met with us at Panera Bread on the way out of town, and we got a family shot.

Ron, Susan, & Ben!

The boys finally slept on the drive down to Oregon. This was the only "long" drive that we didn't do in the middle of the night.

The beginnings of sleep (he hated to sleep in the car)


And we are getting more comfortable (rolling)-yes I know bad mom,taking the seatbelt off, but I was desperate for him to sleep.


And the final roll, nose pressed into the seat.